5 Lutz, Viticulture and Brewing. 



thrown into the streets and trodden down. The vineyards of 

 Gizah were cut down and orders promulgated everywhere to 

 do the same all over the country ^ In Miniet ibn al-E^asib 

 (\.^*.^ '-i \ ^^\ '^-';^) vine was cultivated in Idrisi's time. 



The travelers who visited Egypt in the Middle Ages 

 have httle to say regarding its wines. Hans Jacob Breuning 

 von und zu Buchenbach visited Egypt in 1579. He says that 

 Egypt has no wine, but for the sake of pleasure some vines 

 have been planted occasionally in the gardens 2. Pater Wans- 

 leben who on June 30, of 1672, went by boat from Rashid 

 (Rosette) up-stream, met with an occurance which shows how 

 strictly the Mohammedan Turks prohibited the use of wine. 

 Some young Turkish sailors discovered that the pater had 

 a supply of wine which he had brought with him from Mar- 

 seilles. They became infuriated and wanted to throw the 

 wine bottles into the Nile 3. L. F. Norden narrates that he 

 received plenty of coffee and grapes on his journey through 

 Egypt and Nubia in the year of 1737. These grapes were 

 indeed small, but of an excellent taste'*. Savary^ in his 

 description of the old Arsinoitic nomos shows that the Copts 

 at that time still cultivated the vineyards of their ancestors 

 and that they gathered excellent grapes from which they pre- 

 pared a white wine of agreeable taste. Maillef^ who wrote 

 a few decades earlier remarks that most of the Egyptian 

 vineyards are situated in the Fayyum. He notes also that the 

 Egyptians esteemed the leaves of the grape-vine much more 

 highly than the fruit itself. They were accustomed to wrap 

 chopped meat with these vine-leaves and to cook the whole 

 to a tasty dish. Jomard' again mentions the vineyards of the 



1) S. de Sacy, Ckrest. Arab. I, p. ir, ir. 



2) Orientalische Reysz desz Edlen und vestett Hansz Jakob Breuning von 

 und zu Bouchenbach etc. Printed at Strassburg by Johann Carolus, 1672, p. 156. 

 Quoted from Wonig, Die Pfianzen im alien Aegypten, 1886, p. 254. 



3) Relazione dello state presente dell Egitio, Perigi, 1677, p. 59. Quoted 

 from Wonig, o. c, p. 261. 



4) See Wonig, o. c. 



5) Lettres sur l' Egypte, II L. troisieme, 1777. Quoted from Wonig, o. c. 



6) Rescription de l' Egypte, 1740, L. XI; quoted from Wonig, o. c. 



7) Description de V Egypte , Edit. II, Tom. IV, p. 439: quoted from 

 Wonig, o. c. 



